‘Slander’ by Rhiannon Barnsley is a gripping thriller that explores people’s voyeuristic obsession with celebrity trials, true crime TikToks and he said/she said narratives. The novel follows divorcing spouses Ethan and Tori as they prepare for a high-profile legal showdown, through their own eyes, as well as through the lens of content creator Riley. As media interest intensifies, dirty laundry is aired and Riley learns that the courtroom may hold the key to the truth about her missing sister.

I really enjoyed the multiple viewpoints in this book, and the abundance of twists and turns. The plot was fast-paced and captivating, and felt utterly modern. While it was sometimes hard to know who to sympathise with, meaning I felt less of a connection to each individual character, I was swept up in the salacious story and didn’t want to tear my eyes away until the conclusion!

I absolutely loved the author’s debut, ‘The Clique’, and I wholeheartedly recommend this book too! This gets 4 stars from me and I’m excited to read whatever Rhiannon Barnsley turns her imagination to next…

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Harper Collins, One More Chapter via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I absolutely loved The Clique by this author last year (see my review at The Clique Rhiannon B) and was extremely excited to be contacted by Grace at One More Chapter with the offer to read Slander ahead of publication. No spoilers here, but I am going to say that this is a very strong follow up novel (not a sequel, just her next fantastic book).

I chose to read this during my recent trip to London, and perhaps the fact that a big part of the book is set there helped me get a feel for the story? I don't know - whatever it was, it worked for me. Now anyone who knows me knows that I am not a follower of celebrities and their associated gossip, but I am a lover of a courtroom thriller and that's probably what swayed me to opt to read this book. The two main characters are darlings of the celebrity gossip columns, drop-dead gorgeous TV star Ethan Simmonds and his popstar wife Tori. After both achieving celebrity status for their respective roles, things have spiralled pretty quickly downwards when Tori, who's a bit tipsy, spills the tea at the Christmas party to Ethan's director that he's been having an affair. It transpires that this is a mega no-no, as Ethan has a morality clause in his contract which means he has to be 100% squeaky clean in the respectability stakes, and an affair would be a huge breach of said contract. Ethan gets fired, no questions asked and all his lucrative sponsorship deals go out of the window with the job. Cue the defamation trial and multimillion claim against Tori for loss of earnings which is the backbone of the book.

Alongside this, there are chapters featuring a podcaster named Riley Grey, a young woman from the USA whose sister Alice went missing a year before in London. She's battling to keep her sister's name in the news until she finds out what happened to her and indeed whether she's even still alive. But what's the connection between Alice and our celebrity couple? There are no clues, but my gut was telling me there's more to this than meets the eye.

I was completely absorbed by this story, despite only being able to read short sections at a time - I would have loved to binge read it all in one go, but sadly this was not an option. Who is telling the truth? Ethan or Tori? The way the author has written this book gives nothing away - you don't know who to trust, whether anything anyone is saying can be believed, and why on earth would Tori risk losing everything by blabbing about Ethan's infidelity? Did it even happen? Then, just as I was getting a sneaky chapter under my belt before work one morning, I was left at the end of a chapter on the biggest precipice of a cliffhanger possible! I had a whole 8 hours plus to wait before I could possibly find out what was going on - once you've read the book, you'll know where I'd reached in the book.

I found the pacing of this book absolutely spot on, the story worked so well with tiny hints of information along the first two thirds or so of the book, enough to get you forming theories and making connections which may or may not be real. The final third turns those drips into bigger drops, then the climax to the book pours out the whole reservoir of facts into your brain. The deluge blew my mind, and impressed me so much with the how the author managed to smoke screen so many details for so long. Did justice play out in the end? In some ways I'd say yes, but as in real life court cases not everyone gets what they deserve. That's as much as I'm saying because I think that part of the story is very subjective. I strongly recommend you give this book a go, even if you're not a courtroom drama lover or - like me - don't really "do" the whole celebrity gossip scene. There's so much more to this book, but it still didn't quite make the full 5 stars for me. A shiny 4.5 feels more accurate.

Rhiannon Barnsley has done it again. I loved her first novel The Clique so I had huge hopes for this one. Slander blew me away and exceeded all expectations! What a wild ride, an absolute page-turner and solid 5-star read!

Slander by Rhiannon Barnsley navigates the gossip columns and the TikToks to follow the relationship of Tori (Singer) and her actor husband Ethan and the trial related to their infidelity.

This is a gritty novel that is told from multiple perspectives - that of Ethan, Tori and of #thetruthisgrey aka Riley Grey. Riley is trying to uncover what happened to her missing sister Alice and is prompted to follow the trial around Tori and Ethan’s marriage to uncover the truth of what happened to Alice.

This is a captivating novel that has surprises hidden in its pages. Definitely not disappointed by this new novel by Rhiannon Barnsley. With Slander she has become my new auto buy author.

I enjoyed this book. Was very fast paced writing and the storyline was good.
5 stars for this book.

really fun read!! Netgally book from an author I've read before and loved. super happy they're still writing.

The headline says courtroom thriller, but it is SO MUCH more than that. it's a not of lies and deceit but it somehow all makes sense and wraps up nicely.

my only issue was certain things weren't introduced early enough on so it felt kind of like it was just thrown in to round the story out. if some of the twists at the end had some more breadcrumbs I think it'd be an even better book.

Thank you, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, for providing the copy of Slander by Rhiannon Barnsley. If you like your celebrity gossip spiked with influencers, try this book. Riley, an influencer, ends up flying to England to cover theTori and Ethan’s court case when an anonymous friend says it might be the key to what happened to her sister. I loved the court scenes, with Tori and Ethan taking shots at each other until you don't know who to trust. Meanwhile Riley watches the trial and continues to get anonymous messages. If you love an unexpected ending you will love this book, because I was expecting something completely different! For me it was implausible, so it was hard for me to love it. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because I loved most of the book.

This was a fast-paced mystery that had me hooked from the very first page! I love this author’s writing style. There is a twisty plot, intrigue, suspense, likeable characters, and a great showdown in the way of a trial!

I was really involved in this story and it became a riddle to solve. Some really good characters and an excellent storyline and it definitely ended on a high!

A must read and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars!